Follow Friday: Mail I Wanted To Read

As part of my ongoing Quest For New Directions, I have become very stern and pruned a number of subscriptions, loops and lists because the mailbox was becoming something I felt vaguely ill about opening every morning.

Now I feel much better. And here are some nice things that were in the mailbox.

• A primer on house histories by a very nice expert on them from my neck of the woods. Read all about why people are interested in them, and what are the key questions to ask when doing one.

• The DNA study of Melungeons – a classic example of DNA sleuthing brushing away preconceptions and achieving new insights, though not without some difficult feelings. But I like the quote from sociologist D. Reginald Daniel: “All of us are multiracial. It is recapturing a more authentic U.S. history.”